


Discovering The Hoenn Region

by Team_Cap



Category: Pocket Monsters SPECIAL | Pokemon Adventures, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, PokeSpe | ポケスペ | ポケSP
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Mostly friendship, One Shot, not beta-ed, this is a 13k behemoth and i'm splitting them into 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:59:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24001726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Team_Cap/pseuds/Team_Cap
Summary: X along with his friends are on a vacation in the Hoenn Region. They meet their senior Pokedex Holders along the way and Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald showed them the different forms of entertainment in Hoenn, from Contests to the Battle Frontier and the Pokemon League.
Relationships: (not the focus but implied and you all know my bias :p), Odamaki Sapphire | Sapphire Birch/Ruby
Comments: 6
Kudos: 40





	1. A Trip to the Battle Frontier

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Liyada](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liyada/gifts).



> This is a commission from Liyada (read her fics!!! They're really great <3). I ended up writing this 13k behemoth that I'll divide into 3 parts. I hope you'll enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing this!
> 
> Another warning: THIS IS NOT BETA-ED. I hope you understand.

* * *

Trevor closed his luggage and he took a deep breath. He sat on his bed, his eyes scanning his room.

"Okay," he started, looking at the cabinet. "I packed all the clothes I need and we'll be staying at a hotel so they'll probably provide some toiletries," He grabbed a notebook from his satchel, which seemed to be a diary, and a pen. He stood up and went to the desk.

" _Today's the day!"_ Trevor wrote in his diary. " _We'll be going to the Hoenn Region for a vacation! Shauna said it's a tropical paradise while it's a chance for me to see exclusive Pokemon that only lived in that region. This is also a great chance for my friends and I to—"_

"Trevor!" Y hollered from the outside, making Trevor stop writing. He placed his pen down and sighed, going to the window to see his friend.

"What is it?" he asked, trying to keep his voice down. He just really hoped that Y didn't startle his neighbors...again.

"What do you mean ' _what is it_ '?!" Y retorted, making Trevor place his finger close to his lips. He shushed her. The Flyer noticed this and giggled, scratching her head. She forgot to lower her voice again. "Sorry," she apologized. "Anyway!" she continued, her loud voice returning and Trevor just sighed at that. If Y was excited, nothing could stop her booming voice. "We're all ready. Let's all go to the airport together!"

Trevor forgot that they would leave around three in the afternoon. Bringing his head back to his room, he looked at the clock which said 2:45 in the afternoon. His eyes went round like a plate.

Their flight would be at six in the evening and they have to be at the airport around three. Closing his notebook and shoving it and his pen in his bag, he grabbed his luggage and went outside his house. He panted, catching his breath. "I-I'm ready," he replied, still gasping for air.

Y smiled and patted his back. To him, it felt like a smack. He almost fell if he didn't hold onto his luggage tightly.

"Great! Let's get going!" the Flyer said happily.

Trevor nodded, looking at his house. He didn't need to worry about it since Y's mother and his parents would look after it. His books would be safe even if he wanted to bring them all to the trip.

Time went by quickly and the friends of five managed to ride their airplane. Their trip would be long since they have to stop by in the Unova Region first then ride a ferry to get to the Hoenn Region. Trevor didn't know why people in Hoenn didn't have an airport yet where planes from other regions could land, but he guessed that it was Hoenn's way of preserving their land and seas.

Nonetheless, he couldn't wait and he knew his friends felt the same way as well. He breathed, letting his head rest on the chair. The movie he watched just ended and he didn't know what to do next. Then and there, an idea went to his head. He grabbed his pen and his diary.

Trevor didn't know how it all happened; the next thing he knew was Professor Sycamore telling him to deliver something important to Professor Birch when they reached Hoenn.

Shauna did explain to him what happened, though, but she was so ecstatic about this trip that she rambled so much. He was able to get bits of information about why she suddenly invited them on this trip. It was something about her rich customer or something? He couldn't grasp every detail but he was glad they were able to go on this vacation. They all needed it and the fact that they haven't spent time together in a long while made this vacation worthwhile.

_**"** **This is your captain speaking."** _

Trevor stopped writing when he heard the announcement. He closed his notebook to listen carefully.

_**"** **Please put on your seatbelts. We're about to land soon."** _

Trevor placed his notebook back in his bag and checked to see if his seatbelt is secured and it was. He smiled and looked to find his friends. He saw X waking up from Y's lap with Y smiling at him. He was blushing and tried to put on his seatbelt, only to fail miserably. A flight attendant thankfully helped him while Y just watched them whilst giggling. Shauna woke up as well. She was sleeping on Tierno's shoulder and she, too, started putting on her seatbelt.

Trevor took a deep breath. They were almost there.

* * *

**Hoenn Region**

**Slateport City**

**10:00 AM**

"FINALLY!" Y stretched her arms and smiled. She looked at the sky and felt the warm sunlight shining in the sky. There were flocks of Wingull flying on the horizon and she was quite tempted to put on her flight suit to join them.

"It's too hot," X muttered, who was behind Y. He folded his arms across his chest.

"Well, duh, X-ey," Shauna replied, putting on her sunglasses. She handed a pair to Y while the Flyer put it on as well. The sunglasses radiated brightly against the intense sunlight and ironically made them look cool. "We're in a tropical region, so of course the weather is different!"

"The sky is clear, too. A perfect day to fly!" Y added with a smile. Shauna just nodded and smirked.

X gave them a flat look. He didn't know why he joined this vacation in the first place. He just wanted a break from his 'duties' and then Y just dragged him for a passport and visa application.

"Listen, guys," Trevor spoke, grabbing their attention. They all looked at him. "After we checked in to our hotel, can we go to Professor Birch's Laboratory? Professor Sycamore wanted to deliver something to him."

Y nodded. "Yeah, let's do that first. Where exactly is Professor Birch's Laboratory, though?"

Trevor blinked. "Uhhh," he grabbed his phone and opened his message with Professor Sycamore. He scrolled up for a bit and found what he was looking for. "Littleroot Town," he replied.

"Great, but where is it?" Shauna asked.

"Uhh," Trevor opened his map application from his phone. He blinked. "It's...really far from here."

"Then we'll do it tomorrow. I'm _tired_ from all the sitting," Shauna commented. She did have a point.

"You'll just sleep in the hotel," X mumbled while trying his best to hide his smirk. Shauna heard this and gave him an irked look. She pouted.

"As if you're not gonna sleep too," she retorted and X knew he had nothing to say to her now that she 'roasted' him. She wasn't his 'diva' friend for nothing.

* * *

**The Next Day.**

**Littleroot Town**

**Birch Research Laboratory**

**3:00 PM**

"Ugh," Shauna complained. "Why do we have to trek through the forest just to reach the lab?! Who does that?!"

"Tierno has been carrying you for an hour now, though," X remarked, as he brushed off a leaf from his sleeve.

Shauna just rolled her eyes. "My feet hurt, okay?"

"That's what they all say," X replied, chuckling. Shauna groaned and just ignored him.

"Hey, guys, we're almost there. Cut it out," Trevor scolded. Sometimes, X just loved to be sarcastic at Shauna. It was fun to watch but it gets irritating at times. "And Professor Birch specializes in Pokemon habitats, so his lab has to be close to nature since all Pokemon live in the wild." He stopped in his tracks and knocked on the door. A few moments passed, the door opened, revealing a jolly old man.

"Ah, hello," he greeted, waving his hand. "May I help you?"

Trevor nodded. "Uhh, well, y-you see..."

Y sighed. She could tell Trevor was freaking out. He always does that every time he met a famous scientist. He did the same with Professor Oak; he wasn't able to speak clearly at that time. Luckily, Professor Oak was patient with him. "We're here to see Professor Birch. I'm guessing that's you?"

The man laughed. "You guessed it. Is your friend okay?"

Y placed her hands on Trevor's shoulders. "Yeah, he's just excited. We're here to deliver something from Professor Sycamore."

"Well," Professor Birch opened the door widely. "Come in, come in. I understand you traveled far and you must be tired."

"No kidding," Shauna uttered softly. Tierno gently placed her down.

"Hoenn is famous for Lava Cookies. You should try some while you're here. I think my daughter bought some yesterday."

"Hey, at least he seems like a jolly fella," Tierno said, trying to cheer up Shauna. The five went further into the laboratory while Y was trying to make Trevor snap out from his thoughts by shaking him aggressively.

"Hey, earth to Trevor! Where's the item Professor Sycamore wants you to deliver!"

Professor Birch placed two boxes of Lava Cookies and three cartons of Moo Moo Milk on the table. He grabbed some plates and five glasses from the container. "Sycamore told me that there are five kids who will deliver that item. He also mentioned that two of you are Pokedex Holders," He placed the plate and the glasses on the table. Shauna didn't waste a second and poured milk in her glass and grabbed some cookies in the box. Professor Birch chuckled at her behavior. "Which of you two are the Pokedex Holders?"

"Mmm," Shauna swallowed the cookie and grabbed another one. "They're X-ey and Y-ey over there!" She pointed at them and Professor Birch smiled.

"Ah, wonderful. You know, my daughter is also a Pokedex Holder. She, her boyfriend, and their friend are Hoenn's Dexholders. They also saved Hoenn before."

"Y-Yes, of course!" Trevor exclaimed. He was still quivering but managed to place the item on the table for the professor to grab. "I heard you have a daughter who also happens to be the Hoenn Champion! I didn't know she's also a Dexholder!"

"And her boyfriend is a Dexholder too?" Shauna questioned, grabbing another cookie.

The professor nodded. "She and her boyfriend will arrive here around dinner time. In the meantime, you can stay here so you can meet them later."

The four looked at Y. She blinked. "Why are you looking at me?"

"Well, you're the leader," Shauna pointed out and it kind of made sense now that Y thought about it. But to be fair, she was more of a 'mom friend' than the 'leader'.

"Well, do _you_ want to stay?" she asked them.

X shrugged and continued eating the cookies with Tierno and Shauna. Trevor keenly nodded.

"I have a lot of questions to ask the professor."

Y sighed. "Well, if you—"

The door opened and everyone turned to look who entered. A small, blond boy entered the laboratory and gave an envelope to the professor. Professor Birch smiled. "Ah, thanks, Emerald. Is this from who I think this is?"

"Yeah," Emerald replied, grabbing a cookie. He looked at the five teenagers in front of him. "I didn't know you have guests."

"Aren't you a little young to be working?" Y asked, confused. The boy looked like a five-year-old and she was kind of jealous of his long, silky blond hair too.

Emerald could feel a vein pop in his forehead. "I'm _24_ years old, dammit!"

Their eyes widened in shock and their mouth fell, except for X, who was trying to act like everything was normal.

"You're _older_ than us?!" Y, Trevor, Shauna, and Tierno asked, still recovering from the surprise they just witnessed.

Professor Birch laughed at their reactions. "He's actually the third Hoenn Dexholder. Meet the Calmer—Emerald."

"How?!" they asked again and Emerald just sighed to calm himself. He swallowed the cookie.

"We _all_ come in shapes and sizes."

 _To be fair, you look like a five-year-old._ the Kalos gang said internally, observing the older boy just to find any signs of adulthood.

"Hey, quit staring at me!" Emerald glared at them. He chewed the cookie slowly.

Professor Birch laughed even further. He had never been this amused for a while. "Anyway," he said between laughs. "Why don't you watch over them while I work here? Ruby and Sapphire will arrive any time soon, and I want them to meet their juniors."

Emerald rose an eyebrow. Juniors? Did that mean…? "You're kidding, right?" he sarcastically asked while the professor blinked. He rubbed his forehead. "These children are my junior Dexholders?"

"We're 15," X mumbled, secretly grabbing the last cookie from the plate.

"And only X-ey and Y-ey are the Dexholders!" Shauna added, which made Emerald more confused.

X-ey? Y-ey? What kind of odd names were those? "I'm gonna pretend those are not their names," he replied. His hand went back to grab a cookie from the plate but he couldn't feel any. Looking at the plate, he saw it was empty and a dark-haired boy wearing a blue jacket eating the last one. He sighed. "And I'm no babysitter," he continued, gazing back at the professor. "Ruby and Sapphire can entertain them for all I care."

"X-ey already told you that we're 15! Technically a _teen_!" Shauna corrected, pouting. She really hated it whenever people tell them that they were still children. "Besides, you look like a five-year-old yourself," she muttered but Emerald heard it.

A vein popped from his forehead. "Hey!" he yelled. "I told you: I'm 24 years old! And if you really see me as a child, then let's have a Pokemon battle just to prove the difference between a child and an adult!"

Y gave him a weird look. "I don't think that's the best way to prove it."

Shauna slammed her palm on the table. "Fine!" she exclaimed. "X-ey is a _really_ strong trainer, though so you better watch—"

"I'm not in the mood," X swallowed the cookie and grabbed his glass of milk. Shauna looked at him, flabbergasted at his response.

"But—"

"I'll do it when I'm in the mood."

"Please, please, _pleaaaaase_ with Oran Berries on top?"

"No."

Emerald took a deep breath, calming himself. He always ended up defending he wasn't a child every time people told him he looked like one. It often gets out of hand too, and he really needed to stop caring once and for all. On the other hand, though, it was amusing to see people's reactions. "Yeah, sure. Maybe next time."

The five teenagers gave him a confused look. That was a quick change of behavior. Maybe he was right about being an adult despite his height.

"In the meantime," the Calmer smiled at them. "We can all visit the Battle Frontier tomorrow. I'll take you there."

The five gave him a curious look. They haven't heard of a 'Battle Frontier' before and it sounded interesting. They were quite inquisitive about it.

Trevor's eyes widened, realizing something. "Wait," He grabbed a pamphlet from his bag. "Isn't the Battle Frontier similar to the Battle Maison like the one we have in Kalos? I heard it was the inspiration for its creation."

Emerald shrugged. "Probably. Ever since Hoenn started this Battle Frontier business, other regions seemed to have followed it. Battle Frontier in both Sinnoh and Johto, Battle Subway in Unova, etcetera."

"That's probably it!" Trevor said excitedly, closing the piece of paper in his hands. "If that's the origin of those battle facilities then I'll gladly visit the place!"

Emerald grinned and rubbed his nose. "I see you're knowledgeable about this."

Trevor blushed from the compliment. He scratched the back of his head. "I just like reading stuff whenever I can."

Time went by quickly and before they knew it, it was dinner time. Ruby's mother was kind enough to cook a big meal for everyone joining them for dinner. Just as Professor Birch stated, Ruby and Sapphire arrived on time. The teenagers from Kalos were all curious about the two and decided to look at the window to see them.

Ruby and Sapphire seemed to be riding a Tropius. Sapphire went down immediately once the Grass-Flying type landed on the ground, and Ruby followed. They seemed to be talking about something based on their laughter, and once they went inside the house, their eyes widened.

"Ah!" Professor Birch called. "I figured you two would arrive around this time," He chuckled. "Anyway, these are juniors from the Kalos Region. They came here for a vacation."

"We have this many Dexholders in Kalos?" Ruby asked.

Sapphire didn't mind the number. She was happy to see her juniors arrived safely in Hoenn. "Heya!" she greeted, giving them her signature fanged smile. "I'm Sapphire. Nice to meetcha!"

"Nice to meet you!" Y greeted with the same energy. "Actually, only me and X are the only Kalos Dexholders, but Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor helped a lot, too. We couldn't have succeeded in saving Kalos without them."

"Oh, Y-ey," Shauna giggled, winking at her. Y gave her a grin.

"This is Ruby, by the way," Sapphire pointed at her boyfriend. "He's Hoenn's second Dexholder."

"Second?" Ruby asked. "I thought I was the first."

"Well, I have the Pokedex in my hands before ya, silly!"

Ruby smiled. "Yeah, that makes sense. I'm her boyfriend, by the way."

Sapphire blushed at his response. He wasn't exactly the type to casually tell people that he was her boyfriend, but it did make her feel nice.

"Everyone," Ruby's mother called, placing the food on the table. "Let's just eat. You can discuss this later on. I bet you're all hungry, especially the happy couple right there." She giggled. Ruby's and Sapphire's cheeks flushed at that. She really didn't need to say that.

"So," Ruby's mother stated while placing some mashed potatoes on Trevor's plate. "How long are you gonna stay here?"

The five stopped to look at her but the four later looked at Y. The Flyer sighed. "We're just here for a two-week vacation. Shauna's customer was kind enough to pay for our travel fees. She said about being so impressed at her Furfrou's haircut that she was generous enough to do all of this. Right, Shauna?"

Shauna bobbed her head. "Right, right, and since the five of us barely spend time together, this vacation is our little bonding time too!"

"Aww," the woman cooed. "That's sweet. I do hope you enjoy your stay."

Y nodded. "We will, ma'am. We will."

"Since yer all here," Sapphire called to get their attention. There was a smudge of mashed potatoes on her lip but she didn't mind it. She'd take care of it later. Ruby noticed it, however. "Why don'tcha all—Ruby, hey! I'll take care of it later!"

"It's in the way!" Ruby argued, removing the food off her lip. "There, see? Isn't that better?"

"Ya could've told me yer tryin' to remove it!" Sapphire semi-scolded and pouted. They heard a cough. It was Professor Birch. He gestured his daughter to continue. She took a deep breath. Right. She was in the middle of telling them something. "We can take ya around Hoenn, if ya want. Ya can visit the gyms and the beautiful nature surrounding it!"

Ruby smiled. He liked her suggestion. "We can also take you to the contest hall! You haven't seen a Pokemon Contest performance yet, right?" The five shooked their heads and Ruby knew they were now required to go. "Perfect!"

"While travelin', we can show them both! Great idea, Ruby!"

Ruby chuckled, winking at his girlfriend. "Of course, it is!"

 _He's so full of himself…_ Y and Shauna thought but listened to the couple ramble, nonetheless.

A cough interrupted the couple's rant, however. They all looked at the smallest man in the room.

"You two do realize that I met them first, so that means _I_ get to take them to the Battle Frontier first!" Emerald told the two. He placed his spoon back on the plate.

Ruby and Sapphire shook their heads. "No, we—"

"Who wants to hang out with you two lovebirds, anyway? You'll just get lost in your own world and ignore the kids," Emerald teased while smirking. He saw them gave him an irked look.

"Hey!" The teenagers and the couple replied. He laughed.

"I'm just telling the truth."

"Speaking of," Shauna stopped glaring at Emerald and looked at the couple. "May I ask how did you two start dating?"

The question took Ruby and Sapphire off guard. They opted to avoid the question and continued eating their meal.

"You can go to the Battle Frontier first," Ruby and Sapphire replied, making Emerald pump his fist in the air.

The Calmer laughed. "We'll leave at 8 PM sharp."

* * *

**The Next Day.**

**Battle Frontier**

**9:00 PM**

Emerald was already annoyed at this early in the morning. Sure, the happy yet competitive environment of the Battle Frontier was normal—he got used to it for the past years—but he thought it would be just him _and_ the five children.

He did not expect Ruby and Sapphire to tag along.

"Remind me again _why_ are you two here?" he asked for the umpteenth time.

Ruby winked at him. "Well, you can't have all the fun."

Emerald rolled his eyes. "Pretty sure your girlfriend will distract you sooner or later."

"Anyway, Mr. Emerald," Shauna said, looking at the place. This whole island looked amazing but it was a shame that there weren't any clothes stores here. She would love to go shopping with Y.

"Just call me Emerald," Emerald corrected, turning to face her.

"Ah, okay!" Shauna chirped. "Emerald-ey!"

Emerald could feel his eye twitch in annoyance at the nickname. Anything. Anything _but_ a cute nickname. Just...anything but that.

"What are we doing here at the Battle Frontier anyway?"

The blond's annoyance suddenly dissipated. She had a point; what did come into his mind to take them here? He took a deep breath, calming himself. He released it. "Dunno," he replied. Everyone was disappointed to hear that, but it didn't bother him. "Just some sightseeing. If you're interested, you can battle some of the facilities here."

"Oh," the teenagers replied. They all remained silent for a moment.

"The truth is, Emerald," Y said on behalf of her friends. "We came here for a vacation. I don't think we're prepared to challenge the Battle Frontier."

"I'm actually not in the mood," X added. His eyes wandered around the area. He saw a child getting ice cream with their parents. He smiled slightly at that, remembering how he used to do that with his parents before they started working out of town. He missed them and he didn't know when would he see them again, but he hoped it would be sooner than expected.

"But how does the Battle Frontier work, though. Is it similar to the Battle Maison?" Trevor asked.

Emerald folded his arms across his chest. He remembered challenging the Battle Maison a few years back. "Well," He put on his thinking face and nibbled his bottom lip. "I can't tell, really. The Battle Maison has some similarities to Hoenn's Battle Frontier but every one of the Battle Frontier facilities here has a different set of rules. There are seven of them, in fact, so you have to know each facilities' rules before challenging them. The receptionists will explain it to you anyway and it doesn't matter if you're a first-timer or not."

The teenagers were amazed. They blinked, as their eyes sparkled enthusiastically.

"Amazing," Trevor said, still in awe.

"So, hold on," Y raised her hand. "Did you challenge the Hoenn Battle Frontier yourself?" Emerald nodded at her answer and Y was more amazed. "That's so cool!"

They heard a giggle, and it came from Sapphire. She grinned at the teenagers. "In fact, Emerald here is the first one who defeated the Hoenn Battle Frontier! And it took him seven days to boot!"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, and he's also a temporary Frontier Brain. When one of the Frontier Brains couldn't take accept a challenge, Emerald will fill their role and battle with the challenger."

Trevor furrowed his eyebrows. He didn't know if he was hearing things but he definitely heard something clicked, and that's when he knew to whom exactly they were talking to. "Wait, you're _the_ Emerald?!"

Emerald sighed. He didn't seem proud nor annoyed at the conclusion. He was rather impressed that it took them _that_ long, but then again, he wasn't as popular as Ruby and Sapphire. Those two being a couple made them twice as popular as he was. "Yeah, yeah," he replied nonchalantly. "But quiet down. I don't brag about it unlike someone here."

Ruby noticed his tone and the way his younger friend was looking at him. He could tell that he was low-key calling him out. "Hey!"

He heard his girlfriend giggle. "He's right," she commented.

Ruby gulped and his head dropped in a self-pity way. "Not you too, Sapph..."

Everyone laughed. They found it amusing that Ruby easily changed his tone from guilty to remorse. They thought it was probably Sapphire who told him that and not some random person.

Speaking of Ruby and Sapphire, Y was curious about them. She wondered if they also accomplished something outside of their Dexholder jobs. "How about the couple?"

Sapphire stopped laughing and Ruby brought his head back up. They looked at the Flyer. "What about us?"

Y shrugged. "Like, I don't know, what are you doing right now?"

Y swore she saw Ruby's eyes sparkle. She guessed she gave him a reason to boast about his accomplishments.

"I'm a Contest Master," Ruby replied with a smug tone, as his hand was placed on his chest. "I sometimes arrange Pokemon Contests while my girlfriend is the Hoenn Champion!"

Y smiled at the last bit. "No way! You know, X is the Junior Cup Champion too!"

Sapphire smiled and looked at the raven-haired boy. "That's amazin', X!"

X grabbed the bill of his cap. He did his best to hide the awkward blush sneaking on his cheeks. He coughed. "D-Don't mention it," he said, trying not to stutter. "That was a long time ago."

"That's still an amazin' accomplishment, though!" Sapphire said, lifting up his mood. "Can we have a Pokemon Battle one day, X?"

X's eyes widened. He removed his hand from his hat and looked at her. He could see how serious and excited she was with it. He sighed. Well, he didn't want to disappoint her, so trying wouldn't hurt, right? He shrugged. "When I'm in the mood, I guess."

"I'm very interested in the Battle Frontier, though, even though I don't do battles that much," Trevor implied.

Shauna raised her arms excitedly. "Contests for me!"

Tierno shrugged. "Any is good, but I wanna see how the Gym Challenges work here in Hoenn."

Y nodded, agreeing with Tierno. "Same with the Gym Challenges. I wanna learn how a Sky Trainer can challenge the gyms here."

Sapphire smiled at the four. "That's perfect! Yer gonna enjoy yer stay in Hoenn, that's for sure!"

They all then looked at X. He felt uncomfortable at the eyes gazing at him. He just released a sigh to remove the unease feeling. "I don't know. Any will do, I guess."

"That's great, X!" Y patted his shoulder, but it felt like a light smack, and to X, he was used to it.

Emerald couldn't help but form a grin. He somehow liked seeing these kids eager about the activities they mentioned. He looked at Ruby and Sapphire and saw them smiling as well. He snickered. "We got our hands full."

Sapphire bobbed her head. "Ya bet!"

"Since we're all here, why don't we start at the Battle Frontier," Emerald stepped in, making the teenagers look at him. "As much as I wanna explain every facilities' rule, I think I should choose just one."

"We're all ears!" Y responded quickly and Emerald liked her interest already.

"Alright!" The Calmer crossed his arms on his chest. "I think I should explain the rules in the Battle Palace. It's one of the most difficult ones. Listen closely," He turned around and walked away from them while the rest followed. "While we're on our way to the Battle Palace, I'll explain the rules," He took a deep breath. He remembered how he did that challenge at that time. It was a good memory despite his absence. "In the Battle Palace, you're not allowed to command your Pokemon."

Trevor was confused. "Wait, how is that possible?"

"Good question," Emerald stated. "You have to rely on your Pokemon to win. You have to trust them at whatever strategy they come up with to defeat their opponents. The trainers have no choice but to watch their Pokemon battle on their own. Defeat 21 trainers including the Palace Maven, you earn the silver print. Same with defeating 42 trainers with the Palace Maven: you get the gold print as proof of your victory."

"That already sounds difficult, especially if you're a new trainer..." Trevor said, absorbing everything Emerald mentioned. His respect for the Calmer just increased immensely knowing he was able to conquer that challenge.

"Yeah, it is," Emerald stopped in his tracks and everyone followed. "We're here."

Everyone looked at the building in front of them; it was beautiful. Nature was surrounding it. There were trees, flowers, and it was even next to the water. The environment made sense since a Pokemon belonged to nature and the teenagers guessed the natural beauty surrounding it could help the Pokemon feel at home. It was really impressive.

Emerald smirked at the five. "What do you say let's watch some challenges?"

"Actually," X stepped in. "I'm curious. I wanna try it."

Emerald found himself chuckling. This boy wasn't in the mood earlier. He wondered what made him curious in the first place. "Alright, you're in luck; Old man Spenser or his official dude isn't here, so you get to challenge me."

"That's fine," X shrugged. "I just wanna experience it."

"Let's get inside and register yourself. I'll meetcha there."

"I'm only gonna battle you?" X asked, raising an eyebrow.

Emerald nodded. "Yeah. You're on vacation so no point in wasting 21 or 42 battles if you're not gonna collect all the gold symbols."

"I see," X said. "Fine by me."

**...**

**...**

"Hello, are you here to challenge the Battle Palace?" the receptionist asked with a smile. X just blinked, still having a hard time socializing with adults such as a receptionist. He looked at Y.

Y sighed with a hand placed on her face. He never learned. "Miss, my friend here wants to challenge Emerald. He would like to register."

The receptionist blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I'm gonna have a one-on-one match with him!" Emerald told her from the other side. "Just take him to the room where I'm at."

"Ah," the receptionist understood, typing something in the PC. "Okay. You may follow Sir Emerald. Good luck."

X didn't say anything and just nodded. He and the rest followed Emerald to the battlefield.

Upon entering, the five teenagers were amazed to see how gorgeous it looked. It may have an arena in the middle, but trees and a manmade river were surrounding it. It looked just like the outside without the sky perfecting the view.

X stepped on the battlefield while the rest of his companions sat on the bench behind him. He saw Emerald on the other side and he had a grin on his face. He could tell that his senior Dexholder was thrilled about this match. He was slightly exhilarated too now that he thought about it.

"Alright, we'll have a one-on-one match like I told the receptionist," Emerald grabbed a Poke Ball from his pocket and threw it in the air. It popped open and revealed a Sceptile. "That thing you have is a mega bracelet, right?"

X looked at the item wrapped around his wrist. "Yeah?"

"Let's have a mega evolution battle. Sound good?"

X's face was indifferent. "Sure," he replied in a tedious tone. He had an idea on which Pokemon to choose. Grabbing a Poke Ball from his pocket, he sent out his Charizard, Salamé. Salamé roared and glared at its opponent while Sceptile did the same.

"Alright, Sceptile!" The Calmer touched the keystone in the mega bracelet with his fingers. "Mega Evolve!"

X raised his left arm and did the same. "Let's go, Salamé. Mega Evolve!"

Once both trainers touched the stones placed inside their mega bracelets, it glowed into a rainbow-like hue as both Pokemon changed their appearances. Charizard's skin turned black while its flames burned blue; even bursting from its mouth. Sceptile, meanwhile, grew more foliage; its tail now resembled that of an arrowhead. Once their transformation finished, the light vanished revealing the new mega evolved Pokemon. Sceptile was looking menacing and so was Salamé, but the latter was holding its tail, making it look less terrifying.

Sapphire saw this behavior and clasped her hands together. "It's so cute that X's Charizard holds its tail like that!"

"I'm counting on you, Sceptile!" Emerald called whilst Sceptile released a cry as a response. "Remember the rules," He turned to look at his foe. "The trainer is forbidden to command their Pokemon. They have to trust their partners in order to win. Got it?"

Salamé was confused and looked at X. X gave him a reassuring smile.

"Go crazy. Come up with a strategy to defeat Sceptile since the rule forbids me to command you. You got this, Salamé," X encouraged and now the Charizard understood the rules. It roared as a way of telling him that everything was clear.

"Alright!" the judge announced. "The match between temporary Palace Maven Emerald and challenger X will now begin!"

The Mega Sceptile didn't waste a second and jumped towards the Mega Charizard X. It clenched its fists as electricity surrounded it. Salamé saw the Thunderpunch and avoided it immediately. It flew with its wings.

X didn't seem worried as he watched Salamé battle on its own. He undoubtedly trusted his Pokemon and he knew Salamé would find a way to defeat its foe despite its type change.

Well, to be fair, both Pokemon were advantageous to each other but it's only a matter of time to see who would win this match.

On the other side, of the battlefield, Emerald sat on the ground with his arms folded across his chest. He was watching the battle calmly like X. _Come on, Sceptile, you got this._

Sceptile didn't seem to be worried at how high the Charizard was flying. Instead, it had a smirk and used its ginormous tail to jump. Salamé was about to dodge but the Grass-Dragon type was so quick it was able to land a direct hit.

The Fire-Dragon type yelped in pain and fell on the ground. X noticed this and waited for the smoke of dust to clear. "Are you alright, Salamé?"

Salamé stood up moments after. It shook its body and roared loudly, signaling its trainer that the attack was nothing.

X smiled and was about to command his partner, but stopped before he uttered the words. He almost forgot that he wasn't allowed to order his Pokemon.

Sceptile had its back turned on the Charizard. As Charizard flew towards its opponent with an abnormal amount of energy surrounding its claw, the leaves attached to the Sceptile's arms glowed into a bright green. Not a moment later, the ferocious Dragon Claw made contact with the sharp Leaf Blade.

Salamé and Sceptile clenched their teeth. Both tried to move their attacks but neither wanted to let go.

Salamé had an idea and opened its mouth; flames came out of it but Sceptile was too quick and backed off instantly. The fire hit the ground and the heat was irking the Grass-Dragon type. Salamé saw the opportunity and clawed the Sceptile with another Dragon Claw.

The attack alerted Emerald and he stood up because of it. "Sceptile, you okay?"

Sceptile struggled to stand up but did it, nonetheless. It shook its body and nodded.

"Good, keep up the good work!"

Salamé roared at its opponent and released another set of blue flames to attack the Sceptile. The Grass-Dragon type dodged it and the leaves connected to its arms started glowing green again. Salamé kept on attacking its challenger with a Flamethrower whilst Sceptile evaded each blow.

Salamé repeated the attack. Sceptile did the same. It was getting closer to the Fire-Dragon type and when it was close enough, it struck it with a Leaf Blade. Salamé thankfully eluded it on time and when Sceptile was about to move away, it couldn't; the blade was stuck on the ground, giving the Charizard a chance.

Salamé prepared its claws to attack Sceptile but the latter used its free arm to deflect the Dragon Claw with another Leaf Blade. After struggling for a few moments, Sceptile freed itself from the ground.

Salamé grunted as smoke came out from its mouth. The flames on its body kept on burning brightly but it didn't bother Sceptile.

Salamé opened its mouth and flames came out from it once again. Sceptile closed its eyes and used its strongest move. It placed both hands on the ground as trees came out from it. It was on its way to hit Salamé but the Fire-Dragon type didn't budge and continued releasing fire from its mouth.

The attacks clashed with one another, creating smoke in the process and surrounded the battlefield.

Once the cloud of smoke cleared, it revealed Sceptile and Charizard, not in their mega forms, knocked out on the ground.

The judge sighed, raising his hands. "The battle is a draw for both Sceptile and Charizard are knocked out!"

"Shoot!" Y exclaimed, standing up from her seat. "That was an intense battle. Who knew not commanding your Pokemon during a battle can be this intense?"

"No kidding," Trevor nodded. "It seemed like both gave everything they got and I guess that's what matters, right?"

Y smiled. "Yeah, you're right. I still want X to win, though."

"Ya did well, X and Emerald! Great battle ya two!" Sapphire cheered with a smile on her face.

X returned Salamé back in its Poke Ball. He looked at it and smiled when he saw the Charizard sleeping soundly while hugging its tail. Even after all these years, Salamé still holds its tail like a precious blanket it didn't want to let go. It was a cute habit, nonetheless. "You did great, Salamé. Thanks for doing this."

"So," Emerald stopped in front of him.

X was alerted at the presence and placed Salamé's Poke Ball back in his pocket. He looked at the person in front of him. It was still weird that this 'boy' in front of him was almost ten years older than him. Then again, he had seen weird things throughout the years.

Emerald grinned at him whilst tilting his head. "How'd you like it? I hope the rules weren't such a pain in the butt for ya."

X blinked and breathed. "It was difficult," he confessed. "I almost broke the rule and mention my command. Luckily, I remembered. This is so much different from a regular Pokemon battle."

Emerald chuckled. "Thought you'll say that. This is just one out of seven facilities, though. You haven't seen everything yet."

X shrugged. "I'm prepared."

* * *

Y lowered her body, as sweat trickled from her forehead. She was walking slower than usual and X noticed this. He slowed down the pace and walked beside her.

"You okay?" he asked, sounding concerned.

Y groaned. "As if being a Sky Trainer was already difficult with all the rules."

"Well, you asked to be one so you have no choice but to suffer with it."

Y's fatigue suddenly disappeared when she heard that reply. A vein popped on her forehead. "Am I supposed to feel better with that?!"

X was trying his best to not chuckle.

He failed, however, and Y shot him a glare. "What's wrong anyway?" he asked immediately, her anger vanished because of that. She blinked.

"Ehh," She tried to brush it off. "The Battle Frontier sounds too difficult. I thought the Battle Maison was pretty hard but this was harder. Rental Pokemon my butt."

"Well, this is where it all originated, according to Emerald," X pointed out and Y sighed.

"True."

"We made it," Sapphire announced and went inside the ferry. The rest followed along except Emerald. "Yer not comin', Emerald?" she asked with a concerned tone.

"Yeah," Emerald nodded. "Got work to do, remember? But I'll be sure to go with you guys to wherever you're going tomorrow." He gave her a reassuring grin and she nodded at it.

"We'll tell ya once Ruby and I decided. See ya tomorrow!" She waved at her friend and he waved back. The ferry honked, signaling that it was ready to leave. Emerald watched his friends and his juniors leave the Battle Frontier with a smile on his face.

He had to admit: those kids weren't that bad.


	2. A Trip to the Lilycove Contest Hall

* * *

**The Next Day.**

**Lilycove City**

**9:00 AM**

"Oh my gosh!" Shauna squealed with excitement. "I read about this city in the pamphlet I heard there's a mall in here! Oh, I can't wait to do some shopping!"

Tierno laughed at her behavior. "It wasn't like you to read a pamphlet, though."

Shauna glared and pouted at him. "I was bored, okay?"

"Ah!" Trevor smiled. "This is Lilycove City. The tourist spots here are the mall and the Contest Hall. Hoenn is also famous for its Pokemon Contests!"

"That's right!" Ruby chirped happily. "We're off to see a Pokemon Contest performance today if there's any and if not, Sapphire and I can always perform for you kids!"

"We're 15," X corrected.

"Hold the phone!" Y grabbed everyone's attention. "You guys performed in a contest together?!"

Ruby had a pleasing appearance. He nodded. "Well, of course. We're actually the first to do a contest as partners and—"

"Yeah, a contest duo who does contests sometimes—everyone knows," Emerald interrupted, making Ruby glare at him.

"I wasn't finished!" he complained while Sapphire placed a hand on his shoulders to calm him down.

"Whatever," Emerald yawned with his arms placed at the back of his neck. "Let's just get this over already."

"I have a question, Mr. Ruby!" Shauna raised her hand. "How does a Pokemon Contest work, actually? I heard about it from my customer, but I didn't pay attention to it since I was focusing on the Furfrou."

The teenagers swear they saw Ruby's eyes sparkle like glitters. The Charmer clasped his hands together whilst Emerald placed a hand on his face.

"Oh boy—ya _have_ to ask."

Shauna gave him a confused look. What was wrong in asking?

"Pokemon Contest is art!" Ruby declared passionately, as if he was about to make a long speech about it. "It's a masterpiece! It's where every Pokemon compete to see who is the toughest, coolest, cutest, smartest, and most beautiful!"

"The one Ruby mentioned are actually the categories of the contest, so ya can choose which one to compete!" Sapphire added with a smile.

Ruby looked at her and winked. "Thank you, love. I taught you very well."

Sapphire winked back. "Well, of course. It's whatcha always talk about!"

Ruby chuckled at her attentiveness. "I'm so glad you're listening."

Emerald could feel his eyebrow twitch in annoyance. "Just quit flirting and start explaining it, dammit!"

Ruby and Sapphire stopped to lour at Emerald. "We weren't flirting!"

"You _both_ are!" Emerald countered. "Ask them," He pointed his thumb at the Kalosian kids. "They know _I'm_ right."

"He's right," X commented, making Ruby cough.

"Anyway," the Charmer continued. "What Sapphire said: there are five categories to choose from—beauty, cool, cute, smart, and tough. There are two rounds—primary judging where the audience decides who's the most beautiful, coolest, cutest, smartest, and toughest Pokemon just by their appearance and the secondary judging where the judges themselves will decide which Pokemon is which in one of those conditions by showing their moves. You have to be careful, though," Ruby warned, making them furrow their eyebrows. "A Pokemon's move has to match the category. If you entered the cuteness category, your Pokemon has to use a cute-like move, and so on. We also have this thing called Contest Spectaculars, but I think we should start with the basics."

"I always thought contests were a pain in the butt, but they were actually gorgeous. You'll love it!" Sapphire added with a smile.

The Kalsians were left amazed and a little confused. Pokemon Contests sounded intriguing but one had to make sure that one's Pokemon had to be either beautiful, cool, cute, smart, or tough, especially in terms of appearances. Their respect for Ruby somewhat increased knowing those difficulties. Still, it was quite odd to see him interested in contests more than his girlfriend. One would think that it was the other way around.

Shauna pondered about Ruby's words even further. It probably explained why the Furfrou of her customer looked so beautiful despite the messy fur. That customer was probably doing Pokemon Contests. "I wanna try it," she said, surprising everyone.

Tierno scratched his chin. "I thought you were interested in shopping."

Shauna rolled her eyes. "Obviously, I'm curious about Pokemon Contests. Got a problem with that?"

Tierno laughed at her sarcasm. He was used to it and he did find it endearing. "No, no, not at all. It's nice to see you trying new things."

Y placed a hand on her chin, pondering about Shauna's words. It did pique her interest too, now that she thought about. True, it was very different from regular Pokemon Battles but something in her wanted to try it for the sake of fun and experience. "It does sound interesting. I guess trying wouldn't hurt."

"Perfect!" Ruby snapped his fingers. "I'll hand you a contest pass once we go to the Contest Hall. Also, we have these things called Poke Blocks. They increase a Pokemon's conditions so if you wanna make your Pokemon look more beautiful, I can feed it some Poke Blocks."

"Of course!" Trevor jumped. "I forgot that Poke Blocks are also Hoenn's specialties. I never knew it was used for Pokemon Contests, though."

Ruby laughed. "Well, now you know. Now, come on, let's go to the contest hall!"

"Roger that, Mr. Ruby!" Shauna ran, leading the way. Sapphire giggled at her zealousness and ran after her before the girl managed to get lost in this big city.

* * *

**Contest Hall**

**9:15 AM**

"I'm sorry, dear," the receptionist apologized. "If you don't have a Contest Pass, you are not qualified to sign up. I'm really really sorry."

Shauna grumbled, as her head started heating up. The receptionist swore she saw some steam coming out from it, too. The brunette stomped her foot on the ground and turned around with her arms folded across her chest. "I told you I know Mr. Ruby! Why can't you let me register?!"

"There she is!" Sapphire went inside the contest with the gang trailing behind her. She ran to Shauna.

The Furfrou Hair Stylist noticed this and started crying. "Ms. Sapphire!" she wailed, her body slowly dropping on the ground. "They don't wanna let me in! They said I have no Contest Pass!" she wept loudly, causing a ruckus in the building. Everyone looked at the whining teenager while the receptionist repeatedly bowed her head to apologize.

Emerald gritted his teeth and groused loudly. And that girl said they weren't 'kids'; she was clearly acting like one.

"Hey, don't cry," Sapphire patted the girl's shoulder as gently as she could. It seemed to be working since Shauna was sniffing quietly now. "Ruby will talk to the receptionist. Just ya wait."

"They're tourists," Ruby explained to the receptionist. "I would like to register two of them in a Pokemon Contest. I'll take care of the rest afterwards."

The receptionist sighed. Well, if one of the Contest Officials said so then who was she to complain? She placed her fingers on the keyboard and started typing. "Okay," she gave in. "Please tell me what category you'll be participating along with your partner Pokemon."

Those were music to Shauna's ears. Her mood swiftly shifted into a chirpy one. She turned to look at the receptionist as if nothing happened earlier and replied happily, "Cute Category, please! You okay with that, Y-ey?"

Y bobbed her head. "Yeah, I don't mind it. As for my Pokemon, I'll enter with Veevee, my Sylveon."

"I'll enter with Kitty the Skitty!"

"Ya have a Skitty?" Sapphire asked the younger girl and Shauna smiled.

"I do, yes!" Shauna grabbed her Skitty's Poke Ball and sent it out. "Isn't she precious?!"

Sapphire clasped her hands together and her eyes sparkled. The teenagers thought she acted exactly like her boyfriend, especially with that endearing facial expression. "So cute!" the Conqueror complimented. "Ya know, Ruby has a Delcatty who used to be a Skitty!"

"That's interesting," Shauna thought with a smile. Her Skitty yawned and looked around the unfamiliar place.

"Alright," the receptionist commented. "The next performance will start in ten minutes. I will take you to the—"

"I'll take it from here," Ruby dismissed the receptionists and grabbed his Poke Block case. He gave three pink Poke Blocks to both the Skitty and the Sylveon. "Eat up," he encouraged, placing the treats on the ground. "Those will help increase your cuteness condition. Are you two ready?"

Y pumped her fist in the air while Shauna smiled. "We're ready! We just gotta use cute moves, right?"

Ruby bobbed his head. "Yeah. Cute moves like Attract, Yawn, and Baby-Doll Eyes. Enjoy your—"

"Pardon me, sir," the receptionist said. "We don't have a judge for the Cuteness Category. Are you free to do it?"

Ruby smirked. "Well, of course!" he responded elatedly. Sparkles appeared around him and the teenagers wondered whether this was normal or not.

"No, you're not!" Lisia came out of nowhere and they all turned to look at the Contest Star. "Hi, Sapph!" she greeted and clung onto Sapphire's arm. Ruby's eye twitched at that. He definitely did _not_ want to see his co-worker today. "Since Sapphire _technically_ performed in a contest before, I vote her as a judge. She has _waaay_ better taste than her husband anyway!"

"W-What do ya mean husband?!" Sapphire asked, too flustered to say anything else.

"Boyfriend. Husband—sounds the same to me," Emerald laughed and Lisia gave the small man a wink.

"It's so obvious that everyone's waiting for you two to get ma—"

"Alright, fine!" Ruby interceded before Lisia started teasing them. "Sapphire and I will both judge the contest," He grabbed his girlfriend's hand and removed Lisia away from her. "We'll meet you in that room," he pointed with his free hand and went inside with a complaining Sapphire.

"Hey, let go, Ruby! I didn't agree with this!"

They left their friends alone and Emerald sniggered. They all looked at him minus Lisia who had a smirk on her face.

"You had a long way to go when it comes to teasing them," Lisia remarked then giggled. "But hey, better job than Wally. That guy is hopeless when it comes to teasing Ruby and Sapphire."

"No kidding," Emerald cackled along with her with the Kalosians having no idea whom they were referring to, but they guessed it was their friend.

"Anyway, we should get inside the room. I can't wait to get this performance started," Y said to get their attention. Her friends agreed and followed her.

"Well, see ya. Good luck hosting another contest," Emerald bid farewell at Lisia and she waved at him. She watched him went inside the room along with the five foreigners.

The remaining minutes ran faster than a Rapidash. On the stage were four contestants—Y, Shauna, and two random people named Barly and Samantha. Y had her Sylveon with her, Shauna with her Skitty, Barly with his Poochyena, and Samantha with her Whismur.

The host, Lisia, went to the stage and greeted the audience with a high amount of energy that was almost similar to a sugar-high kid. "Welcome one and all!" she announced, as the audience applauded.

Trevor looked around and noticed there were more men watching the performance than women. He thought Pokemon Contests were a woman's thing but knowing Ruby was more interested in it than Sapphire, he could guess that gender stereotypes were nothing but a lie, which it was in his opinion. Ruby and Sapphire already proved it to him.

"Whatcha looking at?" Emerald asked and sat beside him. Trevor giggled nervously.

"I...didn't expect there were so many men here."

Emerald sighed and closed his eyes. "Just between you and me, most of them are only here to see Lisia—the host of this contest. Sure, that's what fans do but some of them are weird."

That piqued Trevor's curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"Best you don't know. It's a different level of weird," he muttered and ended the topic. Somehow, he remembered Gold and he didn't know why. (And he hated it.)

"And our first contestant—Y and her Sylveon, Veevee!"

Y and Veevee moved forward. "Now's our chance," she muttered. "Use your ability, Veevee, Cute Charm!"

Veevee the Sylveon cracked a smile at the audience and it went wild. Applause and whistles, and even stomps, were heard and Ruby was impressed that Y managed to use her Pokemon's ability as an advantage.

"Thank you, Y and your _adorable_ Veevee! Next up, Shauna and her Skitty, Kitty!"

Shauna stepped in with her Skitty. The Skitty sat and smiled at the audience as well. It received the same reception but it didn't go as wild as earlier.

Poocheyena came in next and the viewers seemed pleased, but not as pleased as they behaved with the Sylveon. Whismur, however, received the same fate.

"Thank you all, participants!" Lisia declared happily. "Now that the Primary Judging is finished, let's move on to the second round. Since we have newbies here, the next judging is simple: there are five rounds and your Pokemon must show their cutest moves ever! Are you ready? Of course, you are! Let's start with Y and her Sylveon!"

"Let's show them how cute you are, Veevee!" Y shouted and everyone tried to cover their ears. "Baby-Doll Eyes!"

Veevee let out a cry and stopped in front of the audience. It blinked, showing the audience its cute pair of eyes and an 'aww' was heard.

Shauna came in next and commanded her Skitty to use Fake Turn. The audience reacted the same way they reacted before. Poochyena was next and it let out the cutest yawn. Lisia swore she shed a tear from how cute it was.

The move was bad news to the Whismur, however, for it was too nervous to move. The crowd looked at it and blinked, waiting for something to happen but there was no result.

The first round came in pretty quickly and Y and her Sylveon were the first to perform again. The Flyer commanded her Pokemon to use Disarming Voice and the onlookers somehow had hearts appearing in their eyes.

However, one of them was trying to control himself.

 _I mustn't... not like them..._ X struggled, closing his eyes. He didn't expect to react with the people watching this contest, but yet, here he was. It was a good thing Kalos didn't have this sort of entertainment. He would lose his mind if that was the case.

"I can't even tell who is cuter now. At first, I thought it was Veevee but now, I'm not so sure," Trevor observed. He also had hearts in his eyes. X wondered how that was possible.

Tierno nodded. "Well, this isn't the cuteness category for nothing."

The next round came in with Poochyena performing its cutest Play Rough, but it didn't leave the audience as impressed as before. Veevee performed next with a Disarming Voice and it, too, didn't impress the audience that much.

In the judging section, Sapphire turned her eyes at her boyfriend. She breathed. "Focus, Ruby," she advised, making her boyfriend chuckle.

"You know me too well, love," he responded with a wink. Sapphire tried to control her blush and just looked at the Skitty using its most adorable attract move.

"Ya see, this is why is why we can't be judging a contest together: ya get so distracted easily," she reprimanded with an irked tone. She had a feeling he would reply something like she was 'cuter' than the Pokemon. She heard him chuckle even louder and she braced herself.

"Can't help it that my girlfriend is the cutest one in this building."

The blush on Sapphire's cheeks increased tenfold. She expected that response but how come she was still speechless and surprised?!

The last round ended with a Facade, leaving everyone in the room clapped at the magnificent show. Lisia went to the center of the stage with the contestants behind her.

"What an amazing performance from all these cute Pokemon! Please, give me a moment to get the final results from the judges and—oh!"

"Here ya go," Sapphire handed her the envelope and went back to her seat once Lisia received it.

"That was quick. I knew our dear Champion was reliable," Lisia giggled and the crowd followed. She opened the piece of paper in her hand and smiled. "Well, before I announce the winner, let's look at the screen behind us to see who won each round!"

The screen behind the host and the contestants turned white, gesturing the people that it was working.

"The primary judging was so close!" Lisia exclaimed. "Every Pokemon did their best by being their cutest selves, but Y and Veevee won that round."

The screen showed the contestant's photos and what seemed to be their scores that looked like a health bar in a video game underneath. Y got the most ones but the rest were almost close to her score.

"Next was the secondary judging! It was an intense performance to see who was the cutest; we couldn't tell who would actually win since their scores were _soo_ close, but in the end, Y and Veevee won because of their high score from the primary judging. Congratulations, Y and Veevee! You're today's winner of the Normal Rank Cute Category!"

The crowd went wild when the spotlight was placed under Y and Veevee.

Y blinked while Veevee enjoyed the attention. The Sylveon ran in circles whilst its trainer was still having a hard time processing everything. They...won…? They actually won?! She didn't expect it, honestly. She was having so much fun with her Sylveon that she didn't notice that she actually won a Pokemon Contest, and it was her first time to boot!

"Congrats, Y-ey!" Shauna congratulated and gave her a big hug. Her Skitty went closer to the Sylveon and smiled. Both Pokemon started chasing each other and the crowd just commented an 'aww' from how lovely it was.

Y went out of her trance and her arms returned the embrace. She grinned. "Thanks, Shauna! Although, I didn't expect it."

"Are you kidding?" Shauna removed herself from their hug. "No need to be humble! Go on and brag about your win! If Mr. Ruby can do then so can you!"

Y laughed at her friend's reply. She did have a point, but she wasn't as boastful as Ruby.

* * *

"Oh boy!" Tierno shouted and grabbed a piece of meat. He was drooling, as he observed the beautiful, luscious meat in front of him. "This is what I needed after watching that contest!" he declared and chowed down. Everyone gave him an odd look. As far as X, Trevor, and Emerald were concerned, Tierno was eating a bag of chips during the contest performance. They also thought that the contest didn't last for that long. It was around 45 minutes or so.

"Why are we eating here again?" Emerald asked, looking at his own plate. There were fried fish and chips on it. It looked appetizing but he wasn't really hungry.

"Well, we're here to celebrate," Ruby said, grabbing his own food. "Y won so Sapphire and I thought we should eat here."

"I'm not paying for it," Emerald added and grabbed a chip.

"Nah, it's fine," Sapphire reassured, swallowing her meal. "I'll pay for all of it. I don't mind."

"Good," Emerald grinned, his mood promptly changed from a sour one to a sweet one. He keenly ate his food like Tierno, making Ruby gave him a ' _you got away from this one for now_ ' look.

The Charmer sighed. He looked at Sapphire who was peacefully eating her meal. She was a messy eater at first but now, she eats quite elegantly. He didn't know if he taught her too much table manners or the fact that she was just pretending to eat like a feral animal to get rid of her former self. Though he admits that the way she eats when they were reunited was kind of cute. Of course, he wouldn't tell it in front of the kids and Emerald.

"Did you see how Y-ey won?!" Shauna asked her friends. She didn't seem disappointed when she lost the contest despite her huge interest in it. "She and Veevee were so cute! Who knew Y-ey has a hidden talent in contests!"

"Not just Y, but X did pretty wicked too at the Battle Palace!" Tierno said between bites. "Salamé sure knows what it's doing!"

"I really can't wait to see how gym battles work in Hoenn!" It was now Trevor's turn to talk. He was looking at his phone while eating his own meal. "I heard gym battles in every region may be similar, but you can still differentiate them."

"Yeah, that's what I heard too!" Y added with a smile.

Ruby smiled as he observed the five friends. They seemed very close and it felt like they could talk about almost anything they wanted. He and Sapphire were definitely close, even before he started asking her out, but among him, Sapphire, Emerald, and even Wally and Lisia, they didn't have that same kind of 'closeness' as those five. He couldn't do anything about it, but he was glad to see those five getting along so well.

"Ya see it too, huh," Sapphire asked and placed her glass back on the coaster.

Ruby chuckled and held her hand under the table. "Yeah, they seem really close."

"Yeah," Sapphire agreed. "I find that really nice. I really hope they remain friends for as long as it takes."

Ruby gave her an endearing look. He wished the same for their relationship, and maybe it would go beyond that in the near future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ Their ages were from the Pokespe Timeline I made which is based on the canon evidence we got so far.](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N8Dv8YeQGTkNJJUywf6VyvA-gDd3NDcIqzUYGduhvyk/edit?usp=sharing)
> 
> First time writing a contest performance and boy I'm tired.
> 
> PS: Don't ask me where the meat and the fish came from.


	3. An Unexpected Trip to the Pokemon League

* * *

**The Next Day**

**Slateport City**

**1:00 PM**

"WHAT?!" Y screeched, as her four friends and the three adults covered their ears while the passers-by looked at her for a brief second before continuing with their businesses. "Are you serious?!"

Sapphire dropped her arms and made a calming gesture. "I'm really sorry. Turns out there's a meeting and all Gym Leaders must attend. Even if we go to Norman—I mean, uncle's gym, we wouldn't find him there. They're all busy."

Y felt her legs were getting weak and fell on the ground. Trevor and Shauna came to her aid. "And I thought I was gonna meet Ms. Winona too! I heard she studied at my school one time so I was gonna ask her a few questions."

Ruby furrowed his eyebrows. "Wait, Winona used to be in Kalos back in the day?" He looked at his girlfriend, hoping the find an answer but she was as clueless as him.

"Master never told me that," Sapphire mumbled. Now she wanted to meet her very soon too. She could go to the meeting place and ask for her master's presence but that would be rude and Winona was still the leader of the Gym Leaders in Hoenn; she couldn't just leave that important meeting.

"Well," X said to get their attention. He watched Y stand up. "Maybe we could go to the Pokemon League?"

Sapphire nodded. Well, they didn't have any choice; they had nowhere to go. "That's a great idea! Let's go!"

* * *

**Ever Grande City**

**Pokemon League**

**1:30 PM**

"Welcome to Ever Grande City!" Sapphire announced and showed the building behind her. "I'll give ya a tour inside! Come on!" She went inside the Pokemon League building while the rest followed.

It wasn't as what the Kalosians expected it to be. It looked like a normal office and there was only one door leading further into the building. Trevor wondered why and as he was about to ask that, Sapphire started explaining it to them.

"I heard ya can challenge which Elite Four member ya want in Kalos, but here in Hoenn, ya have to defeat them by order."

Trevor nodded along. It made sense why there was only one door leading to the next room.

"Of course, ya have to earn all Hoenn gym badges first before you take on the Hoenn League," Sapphire continued. They all went inside the room and saw a long bridge. They continued walking and the Kalosians just looked around it. It seemed empty too. Whose idea was this long bridge anyway? "Things got in the way when I completed the Hoenn gym badges years ago, but I eventually became the Champion."

"How about the gym battles here?" X asked. Sapphire looked at him. "How does that work?"

The Conqueror smiled at the Loner. "It's very similar in Kalos from what I heard. Each gym has a rule that ya have to follow in order to get the badge. For example, we have Roxanne's gym in Rustboro City. Ya have to get the highest score in her test in order to challenge her."

"That sounds boring," Y commented. She may have studied as a Sky Trainer but she always hated the written exam format.

Sapphire giggled. "I found it boring too at first, and maybe a bit intimidating, but Roxanne made the questions harder nowadays."

"Wait, why?" Trevor asked, tilting his head.

Ruby had a smug reaction when the younger lad asked. "Sapphire aced the exam, of course!" he stated proudly and the Kalosians were astounded once again. "She probably thought the exam was too easy since Sapphire aced it."

"That's one of the reasons," Sapphire corrected. "She also wanted to let her challengers actually study the books and experience the outdoors in order to ace the test. It's good that she did that, though. There are some things that a book can't teach ya."

Trevor placed a hand on his chin. Sapphire did have a point. He didn't realize that until now. He always relied on books and theories stated in the books but never actually performed the experiments themselves. And according to his brief talk with Professor Birch, one must experience both what was written and experienced in real life.

"Anyway, yeah, that's how the gyms work here. It depends on the Gym Leader if they wanna battle ya immediately but other than that, ya have to pass a series of obstacles before challengin' the Gym Leaders."

Sapphire stopped in her tracks. The Kalosians didn't realize that they reached the very end of the room. Was this where the Champion and the challenger would battle?

"The Hoenn League rules are simple: ya have to defeat the Elite Four and the Champion in order to become the next one. If ya lose, ya will have to start from the beginnin'."

"That sounds rough," Y mumbled.

"Anyway," Sapphire cranked her knuckles. "Let's end this tour with a little battle. What do ya say, X?"

X's eyes widened. As much as he loved the offer, he wasn't in the mood. He sighed, turning his head to remove his gaze from his senior Pokedex Holder. Maybe if he looked away, she wouldn't be in the mood too. "Maybe next time."

Sapphire laughed nervously. "So sorry," she apologized, making a prayer gesture. "I don't wanna force ya and—" She stopped, realizing something. "Hey, have we ever told ya about double battles?"

The five teenagers blinked. They were so focused on the Battle Frontier, the Pokemon Contest, the Gym Battles, and the Pokemon League that they forgot about what another thing that originated from Hoenn—the double battles.

"I heard about those," X folded his arms across his chest. Everyone looked at him. "It's where you use two Pokemon in one battle, right?"

Sapphire bobbed her head. "Yeah, and ya can either do it alone or with a partner. Ruby and I are double battle experts ourselves. How about we have a double battle?"

"I never actually tried it but I'm curious!" Y volunteered. She turned to look at X. "What do you say, X? It's just like a regular battle but with two Pokemon!"

X sighed and looked straight into Y's eyes. She looked so determined and he knew nothing could stop her despite how stubborn he was. "Fine."

"Alright, it's settled!" Sapphire exclaimed and Ruby went to her side.

"Well, that's our cue," Emerald took Tierno, Trevor, Shauna to the stairs behind Ruby and Sapphire. They all sat on it and watched the battle unfold.

"Let's use our trump card for this double battle!" Sapphire grabbed a Poke Ball and threw it in the air while Ruby did the same. The balls popped open and revealed a Gardevoir and a Gallade.

"Let's go!" Y sent out her Greninja, Croaky, whilst X lazily sent out his Chesnaught, Marisso.

"We won't use mega evolution, don't worry," Sapphire reassured with a smile. Ruru and Kiruru prepared themselves for the fight and stood side by side like their trainers.

"Thanks, Ms. Sapphire!" Y grinned then looked at her battle partner. "We have to win this, X! You ready?!"

X breathed. He never actually participated in a double battle before, so he was nervous. He didn't want to screw up but at the same time, he wanted to enjoy this match. "Ready."

"Let's go, Kiruru!" Sapphire moved her hand forward. "Use Leaf Blade!"

"Ruru!" Ruby called. "Stay behind Kiruru and use Future Sight!"

Kiruru positioned itself. It crossed its arms together, making an 'x' mark before releasing it. His blade-like arms glowed green like a leaf under the sun. Ruru, on the other hand, levitated from the ground. Its eyes glowed pink and after a few seconds, a pink glow surrounded the Gardevoir, blinding its opponents.

Kiruru saw its chance and moved forward to attack. X and Y noticed this and panicked at how quick the Gallade was. Y shook her head.

"Shoot," she cursed. "That Gallade is fast but we're faster!" She gritted her teeth and looked at Croaky the Greninja. "Dodge it, Croaky!"

"Marisso!" X shouted. "Use Leech Seed!"

Croaky jumped in the air and used its sticky feet to stick on the walls like a ninja while Marisso roared and placed both of its hands on the grounds. Seeds popped from its back and headed straight towards the Gallade.

"Slice those seeds!" Sapphire commanded her Gallade.

Kiruru continued moving towards its foe. It nodded and dodged one seed aiming at him. His eyes turned at it, as one its arms sliced the seed in half.

It was a mistake, however, for vines came out from the seeds and managed to trap the Gallade. The vines pulled one of the Gallade's arms to prevent it from running while Kiruru struggled.

"Alright, Ruru, use Magical Leaf to slice those vines!" Ruby ordered and Ruru did as it was told. Leaves levitated from the ground and sliced the vines and the upcoming seeds directing to the Gallade.

"Continue what ya started, Kiruru!"

Kiruru freed itself and continued running.

"Croaky, attack with a Water Shuriken!" Y commanded and the Greninja hopped off from the wall and threw water that shaped like a giant shuriken.

"Seed Bomb!" X yelled. He looked at Ruby and Sapphire and they didn't seem surprised. In fact, it felt like they knew exactly what they were doing. He was wondering how those two were able to read each other like a book, but then he realized that they just knew each other very well considering their deep relationship.

"Stand with Ruru!"

"You too, Ruru! Stand with Kiruru!"

Kiruru stopped in its tracks and the green glow on its arms banished. Ruru went closer to the Gallade and stood behind its back. They glared at their opponent.

"Now, Ruru," Ruby shouted. "Use Protect!"

Ruru closed its eyes and a white glow surrounded it and its partner. The seed bombs deflected when it made contact with the shield, but the water shuriken was able to destroy it.

"Now, Kiruru, slice that water with a Leaf Blade!" Sapphire instructed and Kiruru swiftly sliced the shurikens in half, causing a little shower.

Y gulped. That Gallade was definitely powerful. She had to think of something to knock out one of those Pokemon.

"Now, Close Combat!"

Y's eyes widened when Kiruru ran towards her Greninja. As she was about to command her Pokemon to evade the attack, X managed to save her.

"Marisso, Seed Bomb!"

"Deflect those with a Protect!"

X was taken aback. "How the?"

The Gardevoir levitated from the ground and headed to its opponents. It went past the Gallade and the protection surrounding it deflected every single one of those seeds.

"Water Shuriken, quick!"

"Ruru, take those bombs to the shuriken!"

"No!"

Ruru moved its hands forward and when a seed hit the barrier around it, she was able to throw it to where the water shuriken was aiming. The contact caused a light smoke but it cleared after several seconds.

Kiruru came out of the smoke and performed a deadly attack on Croaky. It punched, kicked, and sliced Croaky's body and the Greninja fainted. Kiruru panted for breath, looking at the defeated Greninja and made sure it was knocked out for good.

Sapphire looked at Ruby. "Kiruru's vulnerable now. I'm relyin' on ya."

"Don't worry," Ruby winked at her. "I'm at your service."

"Aim for Gallade while it's vulnerable!" X declared. "Seed bomb!"

"Kiruru, Ice Punch!" Sapphire instructed and Kiruru punched the seeds and froze it, preventing it from exploding.

"Hyper Beam!"

"Ruru, take the attack!"

The Gardevoir jumped between the attack and the Gallade. It hit the Gardevoir instead and almost knocked it out. Kiruru saw its chance and jumped.

"Ice Punch!"

Kiruru used gravity to fall quickly and delivered a freezing punch at the Chesnaught. It hit its head and was strong enough to knock it out.

X gritted his teeth and looked at his fainted Pokemon. She wasn't kidding about being the Hoenn Champion. Her Gallade was so powerful. He wondered what kind of training this Pokemon went to.

"Aww," Shauna cooed and pouted. "X-ey and Y-ey lost."

Emerald chuckled and the three looked at the smaller man. "Sapphire and Ruby are powerful trainers, but if they battle together, they're even more powerful."

"I see," Trevor observed. "It's like you won't realize their full potential until you see them work together."

Emerald bobbed his head. "Yup. That's about it."

Sapphire approached X and Y with Ruby tailing behind her. X returned Marisso back in its Poke Ball and sighed.

"You did well," the Loner reassured and smiled.

"That was a great battle, though, but ya two were missin' somethin'."

X and Y gave the Conqueror a puzzled look. They didn't understand. What wrong did they do?

"Ya both are powerful opponents, but remember that the key to winning in a double battle is by working together as one," Sapphire explained with a smile. X and Y now realized what she meant and she was right. "Ya both were actin' independently which is good but ya have to rely on yer partner too. Not just yer Pokemon partner but your other partners as well. Ya still great, though! Don't worry."

"I see," X muttered. It made a lot of sense. He did notice how Sapphire and Ruby worked together to defeat them. The Gardevoir even risked itself and took the attack for the Gallade. They have an amazing teamwork, no doubt.

"Don't feel bad about it!" Sapphire patted the Loner's shoulder. To him, however, it felt like a smack. Now, why did it feel familiar?

"Thanks a lot, though!" Y grinned. "It's an honor to battle with the Champion! I learned a lot!"

Sapphire smiled at the Flyer, as an embarrassed blush appeared in her cheeks. "It was nothin'. Not a big deal, honestly."

* * *

Once the battle ended, the gang went outside the building. The Hoenn trio observed the five friends talk about their experiences earlier. They were laughing and even teasing each other. The three found themselves smiling just by observing the five friends.

"They're pretty close," Emerald said after moments of silence. "No wonder all of them went on this trip together."

Sapphire giggled. "Yeah. I really like how they're always there for each other."

Ruby hummed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Well, the three of us are like that, right?"

"Exclude me," Emerald corrected. "No way I'm hanging out with a couple like you."

His reply only made Ruby and Sapphire laugh. The Calmer furrowed his eyebrows and looked at his friends. "Hey!" he whined. "What's so funny?!"

"Nothin'," Sapphire responded in between laughs. "Yer so cute when ya complain like that!"

Emerald's cheeks heated up at that. "I-I'm a grown man, for crying out loud!"

"Yeah, yeah," Sapphire said to shut him up. She lowered her body and ruffled his blond hair. Emerald didn't seem to appreciate it, but he wouldn't stop blushing from it.

"Cut that out!"

"Hey, Ms. Sapphire," Y called, making Sapphire stop to look at her. "We would like to thank you all for showing us around Hoenn, and we're wondering where would we go tomorrow."

Sapphire never actually thought about that. They were only focused on the stuff they talked about that she forgot to ask what would they do after all of this. She looked at Ruby and saw him thinking as well. She then looked at Emerald and saw him doing the same thing. Her eyes went to the Kalosians. They were back to talking to each other again and it made her smile. She sighed.

"I think ya five should use this chance to do whatever ya want in Hoenn. This is as far as we could go," she answered and looked at Ruby and Emerald. "Right, boys?"

The boys blinked and stared into her eyes. They could tell how serious and genuine she was with this and who were they to complain? They smiled at Sapphire and nodded.

"Yeah," Ruby replied.

"Finally, I'm free," Emerald said and everyone laughed.

"Yeah, right," Shauna replied with sarcasm lingering in her tone. "I remember you want to be the only one to tour us around Hoenn!"

Y laughed. "I remember it too."

Emerald went back to blushing. His mouth fell and looked at the people around him. They were all laughing and giggling, embarrassing him even further. "H-Hey, that's not true!"

"By the way," Y stopped giggling. "How about Dexholder duties? Are we gonna talk about it?"

Sapphire looked at Ruby then back at Y. She grinned and patted Y's shoulder. "Maybe next time. Yer all here for a vacation, so ya should enjoy that!"

" _And that's the last time we saw the Hoenn Pokedex Holders. They're probably busy with work since—"_

"Hey!" Y called, making Trevor stop writing in his diary. The orange-haired lad blinked and looked at Y. She was in front of his hotel room with X and Tierno behind her. "You comin' or what?"

Trevor looked at his diary and smiled. Maybe he could finish writing this once this day is over. Taking a deep breath, he put the pen down and stood up. "I'm coming!" he called and ran towards his friends.

"Finally!" Shauna moaned. "I wanna get to the mall already and do some shopping! Let's go let's go!"

"You're just gonna let us carry your stuff," X mumbled and Shauna glared at him.

"Ever care about buying some souvenirs? They might sell some Lava Cookies there too!"

X chuckled. "Alright, alright. I'll find some."

Trevor laughed, as he closed the door. They haven't seen the Hoenn Pokedex Holders in two days and he was hoping they were alright. He couldn't wait to see them again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, a big thank you to Liyada <3

**Author's Note:**

> My commissions are still open!!! [ DM](https://twitter.com/TheCEOofRuSa) me for more info!!


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